MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011
Volume 11 Issue 32
Santa Monica Daily Press
BULBS SAVED — FOR NOW SEE PAGE 14
We have you covered
Plan may cost city tree grant
L.A. schools look to teachers to lead in reform efforts CHRISTINA HOAG Associated Press
LOS ANGELES Three years ago, the nation's second largest school district made a stunning admission — it was failing thousands of kids and invited charter organizations to take over low-performing and brand-new schools. The bold move that was hailed by school reformers nationwide but despised by unionized teachers didn't last long. Los Angeles Unified School District now wants to eliminate outsiders from being able to take over schools for the next three years, essentially dismantling what was known as the Public School Choice program. Reform efforts will instead be led by insiders made up of teachers and administrators who will be granted charter-like independence from district control and union rules. For some, the new policy gives teachers long overdue license to enact reforms they want. For others, however, it doesn't make sense to eliminate charters from the reform equation. The agreement, which was overwhelmingly approved Thursday by United Teachers Los Angeles, must still pass muster with the school board, which is expected. "Los Angeles has gone from a place with a tremendous amount of energy and momentum to a place that seems dead in the water," wrote education blogger Alexander Russo, author of "Stray Dogs, Saints & Saviors," a chronicle of turnaround efforts at Locke High School. Superintendent John Deasy said that's simply not true. The new policy reflects both the urgency and the scale of reform needed in a far-flung district with 664,000 students and nearly 1,000 schools — more than twothirds of which are classified as failing under current federal guidelines. Under the new policy, within three years, all schools in the district can implement their own reform models with the district doing more monitoring than mandating. "In a place this size, I can't expect reform to happen with just charters," Deasy said in an interview. "That is incremental, this is
THE BIG DAY IS COMING ISSUE
BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD Daily Press Staff Writer
CITY HALL A last minute twist in a new plan
MEET AND GREET
Brandon Wise brandonw@smdp.com Santa Claus greets the public during the Santa Monica Police Activities League’s pancake breakfast on Saturday. Gifts were later given out during a holiday raffle.
SEE SCHOOLS PAGE 10
to preserve and enhance the tree population of Santa Monica may make it difficult to conform to the requirements of a federal grant that provides 1,000 free trees to the city. The City Council approved the Urban Forest Master Plan Tuesday, but changed a proviso to preserve the uninterrupted expanse of palm trees on 21st Street between Montana Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard, a move which eliminates approximately over 100 spaces for new trees required under a grant by the federal government. Residents of those streets appealed to the City Council to allow the change, saying that residents on sections of Georgina and Marguerita avenues to the north of the disputed streets had negotiated to keep their palm alee pure rather than interspersed with other species, like the proposed red buds. Those trees would not grow any bigger than purple plum trees that were planted between palm trees on Wilshire Boulevard near Sixth Street, said Community Forester Walt Warriner, who then showed a picture of tall palms next to the diminutive plums. “We're not taking away from the openness or the airiness,” Warriner said. “We would be improving the pedestrian experience.” That did not satisfy residents like Vincent McNeely, who called the proposed plan discriminatory, and demanded “equal treatment” with the residents of the ostensibly wealthier part of the streets whose only advantage was that they had organized around the tree issue earlier. Removing those streets as potential spots for interplanting throws a wrench into a plan to put another 1,000 trees in the ground in Santa Monica as part of a grant offered through the South Coast Air Quality Management District. SEE URBAN FOREST PAGE 9
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